Quasi-optical planar FET transceiver modules

The authors present the design and performance of quasioptical planar transceiver modules suitable for communication and Doppler radar uses. The designs incorporate microstrip antennas which function as resonant loads for FET oscillators. The FETs operate as oscillators and self-oscillating mixers for down-conversion of the received signal. The circuits are simple and inexpensive, and are suitable for incorporation as elements of an active transceiver array. Prototypes were constructed to operate at X-band for demonstration purposes. In addition to their use when scaled to higher frequencies, these circuits have also been demonstrated to perform well as Doppler motion detection modules at 10 GHz.<>